Railroad-crossing



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No. 437,974. Patented Oct. 7. 1890.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. R. CAMPBELL.

' RAILROAD CROSSING.

No. 437,974. Patented Oct. '7, 1890.

I 710:2? tar 1 'UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE.

GEORGE E. CAMPBELL, OF BUOYRUS, OHIO. I

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,974, dated October7, 1890.

Application filed December 19, 1889. fierial No. 334,329. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bucyrus, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossings; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in railroad-crossings; and itconsists in certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of myinvention is to provide a railroad-crossing in which thetrack having the right of way will have continuous rails, and the wearand pounding of the ends of the rails consequently reduced to a minimum.

A further object of the invention is to provide a crossing in which allthe parts will be simultaneously operated and which can be easilymanipulated; also to so construct the several parts that the crossingwill be strong and durable.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improvedcrossing. Fig; 2 is a sectional View. Fig. 3 is a detail per spectiveView of one of the corner blocks or castings, and Fig. 4 is a detailview of the central supports for the rails.

. In constructing a crossing in accordance with my invention I secureupon the ties 0r supporting-beams at the several points of intersectionof the meeting track-rails the triangular castings or blocks A, thesides of which are at the proper angles to each other to correspond tothe intersecting angles of the track-rails. These castings consist ofthe baseplates B, provided with suitable openings, through which spikesare driven into the ties or supporting-beams to secure the castings inposition, and the V-shaped rail-sections O on the upper sides of thebase-plates and formed integral therewith. These rail-sections, when thecastings are in place, abut against the ends of the track-rails, and soform practically continuations of the track-rails. The baseplates arefurther provided on their upper sides near their inner ends with theL-shaped lugs D, which are preferably formed integral therewith andengage the outer flanges of the sliding rail-sections E, the innerflanges of said rail-sections bearing against and being guided by theedges of the triangular blocks or guides F, which are secured on theupper sides of the base-plates at the inner corners of the same. r

The sliding rail-sections E have their outer ends resting upon andsupported by the, corner castings, as just'described, and their innermeeting ends are supported by and move 5 upon the central supports orchairs G. It Will be observed that two pairs of these slidingrail-sections are provided for each traclz one pair on each sideand theyare so manipulated by mechanism hereinafter referred to that therail-sections of one track will be separated and abut against the cornercastings, while the rail-sections of the other track are pushed togetherand drawn from the cor ner castings.

the smaller member I secured thereon. The outer member is composed ofthe base-plate J which is secured to ties by suitable spikes,

and the longitudinal rib H on the upper side of the baserplate andbearing against the outer sides of the sliding rail-sections. The upperedges of the ribs H are slightly raised at their centers, so as to liftthe car-wheels from the rails, and thus prevent pounding of the, ends ofthe'same, and this injurious pounding of the rails is further obviatedby the construction of the inner ends of the rails, which are taperedlongitudinally, as shown at L, so that Thecentral chairs or supports Gconsist of the outer or larger member H and the car-wheels run graduallyfrom one rail to 1 the other, as will be readily understood. The centralchairs or plates are provided in their inner sides with longitudinalgrooves M,which engage the flanges of the rails, and thus guide therails in their movements. The smaller members I are bolted or otherwisesecured shall hereinafter refer to one of the tracks as the longitudinaltrack, and to the other one as the transverse track, the construction ofboth tracks and their connections being the same. The pairs of slidingrail-sections of the transverse track are connected by the longitudinalbars 0, which are provided with T-heads P at their ends bearing againstand bolted to the webs of the rails, and the sliding rail-sections ofthe longitudinal track are connected by the transverse bars Q, which aresimilar in construction to the bars 0. A rotary head-block or turn-tableR is pivotally mounted in the center of the space inclosed by the railsforming the crossing, and is connected tothe bars 0 by the links S andto the bars Q by the links T, as shown. The links of each pair arepivoted to the opposite ends of the turn-table, so that the slidingrail-sections of each pair will be simultaneously moved in contrarydirections, and thus separated or drawn together. It will be observed,also, that the links are connected to the head-block or turn-table insuch a manner that the pairs of links will be simultaneously givencontrary motions, and consequently the rail-sections of one track willbe separated when those of the other track are pushed together. Theturn-table is provided in its ends with horizontal notches U, and theends of the links are pivoted in said notches, upward movement of thelinks being thus prevented.

At its bottom the rotary block is provided with an integral horizontalarm V, which projects to one side and has its end pivoted to the end ofa pitman W, which extends longitudinally beyond the crossing, and isconnected to a target or switch-stand X, by means of which the crossingmaybe operated.

The construction and arrangement of the several parts of my device beingthus made known, the operation and advantages of the same will, it isthought, be readily understood.

If a train be approaching the crossing on the transverse track, thesliding rail-sections of that track are separated and pushed against thecorner castings, thus providing a continuous track for the train, sothat the carwheels will not be caused to jump and pound on the ends ofthe rails, and consequently wearaway the same. The same movement whichseparates the sliding rail-sections of the transverse track causes thesliding railsections of the longitudinal track to come together and moveaway from the corner castings, thus providing open spaces to permit theflanges of the Wheels to pass.

It will be observed that my improved crossing is very simple. andefficient and can be easily operated, and the construction of theSeveral parts gives them great strength and durability. By employingsliding rail-sections the snow, ice, or dirt that may accumu late in thechairs will be automatically pushed away as the crossing is operated,and clogging of the device is consequently prevented. The rail-sectionsare supported in such a manner that they will be prevented from movinglaterally and be caused to move directly to and from the cornercastings, thus insuringa straight track for the train at all times.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the stationary cor ner castings, the centralchairs, the sliding rail-sections moving to and away from the cornercastings and between the central chairs, and mechanism for operatingsaid railsections, as set forth.

2. The combination of the stationary corner castings, the centralchairs, the sliding rail-sections, and mechanism for 7 operating saidrail-sections, the upper edges of the central chairs being slightlyabove the treads of the rail-sections, as set forth.

3. The combination of the sliding rails, the bars connecting theparallel pairs of said rails, the rotary block having notches in itsends, the links pivoted in said notches and to the bars, and mechanismfor rotating said block, as set forth.

4. The combination of the corner castings having V-shaped rail-sectionson their upper sides and provided with L-shaped lugs at their innerends, the blocks secured on the said castings, the sliding rails movingbetween said blocks and the L-shaped lugs, and

mechanism for operating said rails, as setv forth.

5. The combination, with the sliding rails, of the central chairsconsisting of the outer members provided on their upper sides with ribshaving grooves in their inner faces engaging the outer flanges of therails, and the inner members secured on the outer members bearingagainst the inner sides of the rails and having longitudinal grooves intheir upper edges, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. CAMPBELL. \Vitnesses:

ISAAC CAHILL, G. A. MoNUTr.

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